The Justice System of the Victorian society can be divided into three major types of court systems: petty sessions, quarter sessions, and assize sessions. The petty sessions were court sessions that occurred when a minor crime has been committed by a criminal. The major reason for the formation of the petty sessions in the 18th century was that the quarter sessions, a different more formal type of court session, was overloaded with severe amounts of criminals. Some examples of crimes that would be solved in a petty session would be drunkeness or poaching. The quarter sessions on the other hand were a more formal type of court where the majority of the magistrates wielded their power. The quarter session's name is derived from the fact that this type of court sessions meets only four times a year. These types of court sessions run for days at a time while they go through numerous serious cases. Then comes the final type of court session, the assize court sessions. These court sessions are the most serious of the crimes otherwise known as capital offenses. These court sessions meet twice an year with both high court judge and jury. The majority of the people tried in the assize court are referred to it from the quarter sessions.
Criminals:
By the Victorian era of the British cities had become heavily overpopulated and with overpopulation came sever poverty and slums. As a result the frequency of the crimes sky-rocketed during this time. It was common for the lower class segment to loot the middle class households and hold demonstrations. The nature of the crimes that were committed by this segment was mostly theft of both furniture and food.
Punishment:
Writers of the Victorian often portray the Victorian justice system as one fond of hanging and other capital punishments. Yet, in the real victorian society, the role of capital punishment were more of a deterrent then actually executing people. This reflects the major goal that the justice system was to prevent crimes
1. http://www.justice.vic.gov.uk/
This is actually a website of a formal justice system. This site is absolutely trustworthy due to the fact that this is actually a government website as we can see from the extension ".gov" As a result this site can be trusted for its information. Secondly, since this website is specifically about the justice branch of the Victorian society it has high quality information.
2. http://www.oldbaileyonline.org/
This is another trusted website not only because it is a non profit organization, but also it records the trials of all victorian era court. As a result, it gives us a pure overview of the Victorian courts.
Victorian Justice
Justice System:
The Justice System of the Victorian society can be divided into three major types of court systems: petty sessions, quarter sessions, and assize sessions. The petty sessions were court sessions that occurred when a minor crime has been committed by a criminal. The major reason for the formation of the petty sessions in the 18th century was that the quarter sessions, a different more formal type of court session, was overloaded with severe amounts of criminals. Some examples of crimes that would be solved in a petty session would be drunkeness or poaching. The quarter sessions on the other hand were a more formal type of court where the majority of the magistrates wielded their power. The quarter session's name is derived from the fact that this type of court sessions meets only four times a year. These types of court sessions run for days at a time while they go through numerous serious cases. Then comes the final type of court session, the assize court sessions. These court sessions are the most serious of the crimes otherwise known as capital offenses. These court sessions meet twice an year with both high court judge and jury. The majority of the people tried in the assize court are referred to it from the quarter sessions.Criminals:
By the Victorian era of the British cities had become heavily overpopulated and with overpopulation came sever poverty and slums. As a result the frequency of the crimes sky-rocketed during this time. It was common for the lower class segment to loot the middle class households and hold demonstrations. The nature of the crimes that were committed by this segment was mostly theft of both furniture and food.Punishment:
Writers of the Victorian often portray the Victorian justice system as one fond of hanging and other capital punishments. Yet, in the real victorian society, the role of capital punishment were more of a deterrent then actually executing people. This reflects the major goal that the justice system was to prevent crimesSources:
"19th Century justice - Victorian Crime and Punishment." Victorian Crime and Punishment from E2BN. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Feb. 2010. <http://vcp.e2bn.org/justice/>."Crime and Punishment in Victorian England: The Law System Switch from Death Penalty, to More Humane Punishment." Georgian/Victorian Britain. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Feb. 2010. <http://georgian-victorian-britain.suite101.com/article.cfm/crime_and_punishment_in_victorian_england>.
Visuals:
"Tombstone Court House - Reviews, Photos - The true story of Tombstone - TripAdvisor." Hotel, resort, tour, trip, holiday and travel reviews - TripAdvisor. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Feb. 2010. <http://www.tripadvisor.in/ShowUserReviews-g31381-d109720-r5293249-Tombstone_Court_House-Tombstone_Arizona.html>.
"Education | The National Archives." The National Archives. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Feb. 2010. <http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/>.
Additional Sources
1. http://www.justice.vic.gov.uk/
This is actually a website of a formal justice system. This site is absolutely trustworthy due to the fact that this is actually a government website as we can see from the extension ".gov" As a result this site can be trusted for its information. Secondly, since this website is specifically about the justice branch of the Victorian society it has high quality information.
2. http://www.oldbaileyonline.org/
This is another trusted website not only because it is a non profit organization, but also it records the trials of all victorian era court. As a result, it gives us a pure overview of the Victorian courts.